The Lucky Ones - Arthur Morgan x Reader

Chapter 2

It did not take long to get to their camp. It was quite a big camp and I was surprised by the amount of women I saw. There were a few fires and tents all scattered around. To the other side of the camp, a cliff overlooking The Heartlands. It was a pretty enough spot.

"Miss Grimshaw!" Dutch called as he got off his horse and a short woman in a maroon dress with greying hair tied in a bun rushed over. "This is Y/n Y/l/n. Please take good care of her and show her around. Colm O'Driscoll was holding her prisoner."

"You're alright now Miss Y/n." She told me gently as we walked through the camp and I noticed people looking over curiously. It made me feel self conscious, I was hardly presentable looking. "I'll get you cleaned up, get you some new clothes and take you to meet the rest of the girls."

She gave me some privacy in a tent and heated some water over the fire to then put in a small tin bath. "Here are some clothes for you. Take as long as you need. I won't be far, come find me when you're done."

I smiled appreciatively "Thank you so much Miss Grimshaw."

When I got in the bath, which was more of a large bucket, it was as if all my joints and muscles sighed in relief. I took a while scrubbing the dirt off and dipped my hair in, giving my scalp a good scrub to get it clean. God it was so nice to feel clean again. I got dry and changed into the clothes she had left me, a simple white blouse with short sleeves and a long dark blue skirt. My hair was still damp but I came out the tent and she immediately found me.

"Well well, you shine up like a new penny." She smiled at me. "I'll take you to meet the rest of the girls they'll make you feel at home. Obviously everybody needs to pull their weight here but you'll be fed and you'll have somewhere to sleep."

I nodded just trying to take everything in. "I appreciate it. I don't mind helping out."

"Well that's good, I can't stand idleness!" She shook her head. Neither could I. Not after years of babysitting my drunken father. We walked over to a tent of girls "This is Tilly, Karen, Mary-Beth and Sadie. There's also Abigail but she's taking care of her boy Jack. Girls, this is y/n make her feel at home." She told them and went off to nag a man called John about putting money in the box. Whatever that meant.

"Hi y/n!" Mary-Beth smiled. "I love it when they bring a new girl back!"

"How did they find you?" Karen asked me.

"The O'Driscolls had me trapped." I explained. I felt like I sounded out of place, they all had that American twang in their voices and I had not lost my English accent. It made me nervous meeting them, I prayed they liked me.

"Damn O'Driscolls." Sadie shook her head.

"Well you're here now." Tilly smiled. "Come on I'll show you around." She stood up and linked her arm with mine as if we were old friends. She showed me Pearson's wagon, the place to donate food. Dutch's tent and the box, the place to donate money. She showed where we slept and Sadie was laying out a bedroll for me which was nice.

"It's all a lot to take in." I chuckled a bit. "It feels like ages since I've even seen the sun."

"That sounds awful! Just take your time you'll get used to everything. If you need help just ask one of us." She told me with a smile. "We're friends now y/n. I got you."

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

By that evening, I had helped with some chores, Mary-Beth had braided my hair for me and we were sat by the fire eating Pearson's stew. I hadn't had proper food in a long time so without a care for what was actually in it, I gulped it down.

"How you finding camp?" I turned around to see Arthur stood beside me. He had on a black shirt, a leather jacket and his black gambler hat.

"Everyone's really nice." I told him with a smile. "It's a lot to take in."

He nodded but he didn't come to sit, part of me wished he did. "You look almost unrecognisable to how you looked this morning." He chuckled.

I laughed it off but I was secretly a bit embarrassed, not that I could help it. "I'm pretty sure these clothes are Karen's. There wasn't much time to pack when they raided my house."

"Well if you need some spending money, come on a job with me." He offered with a casual shrug.

"Okay." I nodded. I was unsure of what a job meant but I assumed robbing. That was something I had never done but why not try it. "Thanks Arthur, for everything."

"Oh no problem. Couldn't leave you there." Arthur seemed so nonchalant but I could tell there was more to him and I wanted to find it out. "Have a nice night y/n."

"You too." I said to him with a smile and he went off to his own tent on the other side of camp. It was a sheltered tarp with a raised camp bed, a chest and some tables.

My first night at Horse Shoe Overlook was one filled with haunted dreams, the sound of the gunshot that killed my father, images of his blood flowing on the ground. I woke up with a start and took deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Bad dream?"

I turned around to see that voice was Sadie's, she was wide awake to. "Yeah." I nodded.

"I get em too." She whispered. "The O'Driscolls took my husband and my home."

"I'm sorry." I whispered back to her. We both lay back down.

"Nothings gonna hurt you now." Sadie said softly and stroked my hair. She seemed loud and I afraid to speak the truth of what she was thinking, I imagined she could be mean with a gun but right now she was soft and comforting. She carried on stroking my hair and it sent me into a deep and peaceful sleep.